dallas does debt REDUX

dallas85

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Hello and welcome :wave:

Now you've got over the scary bit of seeing the big figure, break it down into smaller, manageable bits.

What about your phone? Are you contract and near end? Could you switch to lower tarriff or PAYG?

Spotify? Do without. You can listen online to a lot of stuff. I used grooveshark which did me fine

Your travel (to me) sounds like a lot. Is it public transport? Do you get a monthly discount?

Therapy is up to you. How many sessions do you have per month? Could this be reduced without having a negative effect on yourself?

Food at £120 per month sounds high for one person. We'd spend that in a month between us and 3 teenagers. My tip? Reduced sections, reduced sections and reduced sections

Entertainment - what does this involve? Nights out or cinema trips or dvd rental type things? Could you maybe do alternatives to save a few pounds on this one?

Yes and I've subscribed too!!

Good luck

Hi HAW - lovely to hear from you.

First of all - transport is definitely a biggy but I live in London zone 2 and need a travel-card to get to work every day. I've experimented over the years with using PAYG oyster and bus passes, but it always creeps up to this amount when using the tube in the evenings for non-regular journeys, hobbies&social things etc. So now I basically just stick to a monthly travelcard so I know I'm covered for the whole month.

Spotify - GONE!

My phone is on a contract and I'm signed up for some time yet - I think I've just hit about 15 months. I think at 18 months I can try and negotiate down a bit or try and convert to PAYG. I'm going to set a reminder for a few months time to give them a call.

Food - another biggy. I definitely overspend in this area (my budget probably doesn't reflect actual - it's where I'm trying to be from now on). I try and buy organic and don't eat much meat. Where it gets wasted is on eating out and buying lunches. I think I can keep within this and stick to my guns on organic if I take packed lunches every day and stand firm on dinners out. Although it is something that is very important to me, I also know that I'm in quite a pickle at the moment and that I may be making excuses so thanks for bringing it up and forcing me to think properly about it. 'Reduced' is definitely good, as is 'PLANNING' which is certainly not my strong point.

Entertainment - will definitely investigate some free/cheap things to make some savings here- it shouldn't be hard in London and when I was a student I was very savvy so I'll get thinking.

thanks so much for taking the time to post feedback - it's so valuable to get an outside opinion. I really appreciate it

HeadAboveWater

dallas85 wrote: »

First of all - transport is definitely a biggy but I live in London zone 2 and need a travel-card to get to work every day. I've experimented over the years with using PAYG oyster and bus passes, but it always creeps up to this amount when using the tube in the evenings for non-regular journeys, hobbies&social things etc. So now I basically just stick to a monthly travelcard so I know I'm covered for the whole month.

Happy that you're as low as you can go so perfect (short of buying a bicycle )

Spotify - GONE!

:T

My phone is on a contract and I'm signed up for some time yet - I think I've just hit about 15 months. I think at 18 months I can try and negotiate down a bit or try and convert to PAYG. I'm going to set a reminder for a few months time to give them a call.

Happy days

Food - another biggy. I definitely overspend in this area (my budget probably doesn't reflect actual - it's where I'm trying to be from now on). I try and buy organic and don't eat much meat. Where it gets wasted is on eating out and buying lunches. I think I can keep within this and stick to my guns on organic if I take packed lunches every day and stand firm on dinners out. Although it is something that is very important to me, I also know that I'm in quite a pickle at the moment and that I may be making excuses so thanks for bringing it up and forcing me to think properly about it. 'Reduced' is definitely good, as is 'PLANNING' which is certainly not my strong point.

Good! Once you get into a habit it will not be a problem. Packed lunches saves a fortune. Don't deprive yourself of eating out. Maybe just reduce the number of nights per month. Or switch to an alternative restaurant for a change. Or if it's a social thing maybe lunch time instead of dinner. Could be a bit cheaper too.
But yeah: reduced is the way to go

Entertainment - will definitely investigate some free/cheap things to make some savings here- it shouldn't be hard in London and when I was a student I was very savvy so I'll get thinking.

There you are - done it before so can do it again. Perfect!

thanks so much for taking the time to post feedback - it's so valuable to get an outside opinion. I really appreciate it

Aw you are more than welcome That's what we're here for!!
Other people sometimes come up with ideas that you maybe wouldn't otherwise think of.

dallas85

'Ey up everyone.

Today was fairly successful. A total of £3.50 spent which I'm fine with. I also cancelled my Spotify and NSPCC direct debits as a result of HeadAboveWater's advice. (thank you!)

I've done some planning for the next week or so to keep me busy and have totted up the following anticipated costs:

Friday night - 1 soft drink with friend - £3.00

Saturday - should be an NSD as I am working all day and will therefore get a free dinner and transport (lucky me!). I have to do some prep for this tonight and tomorrow night which shouldn't hurt too much as I'll be earning some £ to go in the pot and will help me out next month.

Sunday: Bike Ride and coffee with a friend followed by a bit more work in the afternoon (voluntary this time, though) - £4.00

Monday - Dinner at friend's house - will take a bottle of wine that I already have and may make some banana bread for afterwards (have all the ingredients).

I'll need to do a bit of food shopping at some point - I've got a few meals in stock but not enough to last me until next Thursday so it might be time to try and find some of those reduced bargains! Hopefully I can stick to around £10.00

Total : £17.00

I have to say that I've realised how much I've been using money instead of my imagination for some time, now. I tend to revert to the cash when I'm stressed or a bit overwhelmed, but I actually really enjoy making things and putting thought in ahead, so perhaps after a bit of practise I'll get back in the swing of things.

Hope that you had successful days too. Time to go 'on the clock' and get some work done!

dallasX

BlueCrayon

Hi Dallas85 and well done for getting started!

I'd think very carefully before stopping your therapy, debt problems and mental health tend to go hand in hand, my therapy was the best money I ever spent. If you trust your therapist and are benefiting I would stick at it. Have a chat with them about your debt and there may be options such as discounts for financial difficulty or having a student present. Even if you just extended your gap between sessions slightly say every 9 days instead of 7 this would cut your cost.

Is you prescription a repeat monthly one? If so can you ask your doc to give you 2-3 months in one go? You shouldn't even need to visit, just write the request on the repeat form.

Well done on cancelling the DDs! I'm exactly the same in that I spend to make myself feel better or reduce stress. Just adds to the stress overall though, waking up at stupid o'clock brain whirring and wondering how to get out of the mess is not good!

BC x

redkez2012

Hi dallas, well done for being so 'on it' with Spotify and the nspcc donations. It's true, right now you need it more than they do.
I agree with some of the comments above, debt and mental health problems hand in hand (or should I say hand in pocket)! Don't give up your sessions completely just see if you can book to attend every 9 or 10 days instead. You've made a great start, stick with it and you'll be just fine. RK2012x

dallas85

Buenos Dias,

It's a bit sunny here which is always helpful isn't it?!

I didn't sleep that well last night - my brain was totally buzzing. Since I began writing this DFW diary, my mind has been really clear which I can only attribute to facing up to these problems instead of hiding under the quilt and trying to deny them into non-existence.

I'm off to work today, then meeting a friend in the evening for a quick drink followed by some prep for a day of freelance work tomorrow so nothing too exciting! I'm taking in a couple of vintage dresses to a shop that buys and exchanges in them to see if they can make me a good offer! I'm quite attached to one of them so it's a bit of a wrench, but needs must eh?

Hope you're feeling ready for the fight this morning.

dallasX

dallas85

redkez2012 wrote: »

Hi dallas, well done for being so 'on it' with Spotify and the nspcc donations. It's true, right now you need it more than they do.
I agree with some of the comments above, debt and mental health problems hand in hand (or should I say hand in pocket)! Don't give up your sessions completely just see if you can book to attend every 9 or 10 days instead. You've made a great start, stick with it and you'll be just fine. RK2012x

thanks for the encouragement redkez! just what you need on a Friday morning. The therapy question is a difficult one so more thinking required I think, and perhaps and scaling down of sessions if my therapist can offer that. thank you X

dallas85

I've had a pretty lovely day today - planning for my fast-approaching trip to the U.S. for work. They didn't give me much notice this time, just a couple of weeks, which at first put me in a bit of a spin but I seem to have got over it now and am making plans for the work portion and my spare time too!

I took some vintage bits and pieces to the exchange shop today and got a grand total of £21.50 for most of them, which is fine as I picked them up in charity shops. The one dress that I was really loathe to part with they didn't accept as they weren't sure they could sell it, so I'm secretly really pleased that it's still mine. I put £20 straight into my account and kept the £1.50 in my purse. I also spent £4.50 on an unexpected lunch with a friend so not an NSD, but close enough for me.

Happy Friday and have a good weekend.

*Robin*

dallas85 wrote: »

I've had a pretty lovely day today - planning for my fast-approaching trip to the U.S. for work. They didn't give me much notice this time, just a couple of weeks, which at first put me in a bit of a spin but I seem to have got over it now and am making plans for the work portion and my spare time too!

I took some vintage bits and pieces to the exchange shop today and got a grand total of £21.50 for most of them, which is fine as I picked them up in charity shops. The one dress that I was really loathe to part with they didn't accept as they weren't sure they could sell it, so I'm secretly really pleased that it's still mine. I put £20 straight into my account and kept the £1.50 in my purse. I also spent £4.50 on an unexpected lunch with a friend so not an NSD, but close enough for me.

Happy Friday and have a good weekend.

Wow Dallas, how exciting to be heading for the States - and at your employer's expense; that's wonderful, very MSE! I hope you have a great time there and manage to see some of the sights when you're not working.

Well done too for swapping some unwanted clothes for cash - every little helps, eh? And £4.50 on lunch seems very reasonable too given that you're in London.

Hope you're having a good weekend, enjoying the unaccustomed sunshine.

dallas85

feeling a bit sun-scorched this morning after two days in the sun yesterday - managed not to burn, though.

I had a very MSE weekend! Saturday was really busy with work at a big outdoor event and I spent £2 on cold drinks to try and keep cool, but aside from that all my travel and food was paid for which was marvellous.

On Sunday I cycled to meet a friend for breakfast and then we went on a bike ride and I helped her to move her house around - on the hottest day of the year; I think we drank 3 litres of water each and were a sight to be seen. In exchange for helping she offered to buy me dinner which was so generous and had a great evening with three others eating tapas outside.

Today's To-Do List
- Finish off work from the weekend and invoice
- Plan meals for the week
- Pick up a bottle of wine for dinner with a friend tonight (turns out I didn't have one already!)

Looking forward to payday at the end of this week so I can really start making progress on the cards.

Thanks so much Robin for your encouraging message! I love that you understand London prices....! Hope you had a good weekend too.

dallasX